Day 26

 The furnace moist with dew was an image of a wonder past nature. For it burned not the Children whom it had received, even as the fire of the Godhead consumed not the Virgin’s womb into which it had descended. Therefore, in praise, let us sing:  let the whole creation bless the Lord, and exalt Him above all forever. (7th Ode of the Nativity)

As we looked at the story of the Three Holy Youths yesterday, we saw how, once again, the Pre-Incarnate Word of God was manifest in the Old Testament, this time as the Angel of Great Council.

The images given to us in this story also find another link to the Nativity of Christ. This link is found in the fire that burned so hot it consumed those around it, yet it did not harm the Three Holy Youths. In this image we are given foreshadowing, an indication, of the Virgin birth.

While it is difficult for us to fathom the mystery that is the Virgin birth of the second person of the Holy Trinity, this foreshadowing serves as a type of how that birth occurred. As we see in the words of the 7th ode above, the furnace moist with dew was a “wonder past nature”. In the same way, the Virgin birth was also a wonder past nature. The fire did not consume Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the same way that the Incarnate Christ child did not consume the womb of the Virgin Mary.

As Archimandrite Vassilios tells us, the image of a fire that does not burn is always compared to the Virgin Mary giving birth to God but remaining virgin. We can see this comparison also in the burning bush that Moses encountered. Archimandrite Vassilios tells us that the fire that accompanies the appearance of the Angel of the Lord is an image of the Holy Spirit. So, in this event, we see not only the Word of God, Christ the Messiah, but we also see the Spirit of God. In essence we are given a glimpse of the Holy Trinity: The Angel of the Lord (the Son of God) testifies to the Father, having been sent by Him, and is revealed in the Holy Spirit. (Meditation for Advent)

In Christ

Fr. David